Chibi Strawberry
by mewpurin-chan
Summary: What if not Purin but Ichigo would be the youngest Mew? And what would happen when she'd meet Taruto under the Tokyo Dome? -see ep40- Also shows how terrible fighting is for children. Enjoy, ne! Perhaps a bit OOC


_Hello everybody, ne! Welcome to mewpurin-chan's second story, ne!_

_And don't worry, I'm still working on Sweet Candy Promise (my other story, ne), this is just a short story I really wanted to write, ne!_

_Plot: What if Purin wouldn't be the youngest Mew, what if Ichigo would be the youngest? What would happen when she met Taruto? This story is about what might happen when those two met under the Tokyo Dome, ne! (Pattern is episode 40 of the anime, ne!)_

_Because she's the youngest in that story, I gave Ichigo a catchphrase, too: the 'nya' we all know already from her, but in that story she uses it all the time, ne!_

_Oh, one last thing – as pattern for Ichigo's character I used mostly the one she has in the Tokyo Mew Mew manga bonus stories 'Petit Mew Mew', ne!_

_chibi – cute, small/little_

_nani – what_

_baka – stupid/idiot_

"…" _speaking_

'…' _thinking_

_Well, I'm from Germany so my English might be a bit weird sometimes, sorry for that, ne! _

_But let's start, ne! Enjoy, ne!_

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**Chibi Strawberry**

Satisfied Taruto looked around the hole. Kisshu and Pai wouldn't find a reason to be upset this time, everything went perfect. The huge hole would make that stupid building collapse sooner or later, becoming grave for all that stupid humans inside! After that test they'd dig a hole like that under the entire Tokyo City, and then finally the first step would be completed. Taruto smirked.

Happily Ichigo watched the performers on the stage of the Tokyo Dome. She had looked forward for this event for so long. Her eyes became dreamy while she watched the actors and artists. In her head she saw herself standing there, making the people happy with the things she could do. The little girl smiled. That sure would be great!

She wore her pinky reddish hair with red ribbons in two side pigtails while her huge, magenta colored eyes stared at the stage to not miss even a second of the performance. She was eleven years old and the youngest member of Tokyo Mew Mew, a group of animal girls rescuing the world from aliens attacking earth. Normally she and her five comrades, the 14-year old girls Minto (the leader), Retasu, Purin and the 17-years old Zakuro passed their time besides school as waitresses in café mew mew which was also their secret hideout.

But today Ichigo didn't have to go to work. It was her free day she took to watch her beloved every year's Street Performers festival in the Tokyo Dome. She looked every year forward to it and there was no way that she'd ever skip it!

In her Mew form – when the part of her DNA that was mixed with that of an Iriomote Wildcat came out – she wore a short pink dress, and her eyes and hair turned neon pink too. She had then black cat ears and a cat tail with a huge red bell on it. When she first transformed Purin, the monkey mew, hugged her so tight yelling that she was cute that she nearly killed the kitty girl.

But today she also didn't think about it, and instead of her mew clothes she wore a light yellow top and a sea blue skirt ending a few centimeters over her knees.

"Ahh, today's such a great day, nya! So nice and peaceful, nya!" The next moment she regretted what she just said. Everything began to shake like crazy. "Nani? Nani? What's going on, nyaaa?" She shook her head to get it clear again. "Is that an earthquake, nya?"

But like that wouldn't already be enough, suddenly a really loud crashing sound could be heard. That cached Ichigo's attention. She ran out of the performance sale and hurried to the place where she thought the sound came from. And really: there was a huge tunnel, coming from above and leading deep in the ground, so deep that Ichigo couldn't see the end of the night black tunnel. She gulped, but she took out her pendant. She had to check out what was going on.

"Mew Mew Strawberry Metamorpho…SIS!" she yelled, kissing he pendant, activating the metamorphosis process. A few moments later she stood there as Mew Ichigo. She looked at her hands that were covered in red gloves, which were clenched to fists right now. She took a last deep, preparing for whatever might be waiting for her at the ground, then she jumped in the hole.

She didn't fall as long as she thought she would. Already after a few moments she arrived at the ground, landing thanks to her cat genes on her feet, and because of her cat eyes she was also able to see at least some things in the darkness.

But there wasn't much too see. She was in a huge hole, probably exactly under the Tokyo Dome. Besides of the earth making the walls of the hole there were only some pillars visible.

"What, you are already here?" She could hear a voice that sounded like it came from above her head. She looked up and saw the youngest of the aliens, floating in mid-air.

"Taruto! What are you doing here, nya?"

"Are you really that stupid? I'm the one who made that hole, of course!"

Ichigo was shocked. "But why did you do this, nya? That's dangerous, nya!"

"That's why we're doing this!"

"But when… when this whole is under the Tokyo Dome… that means, nya…"

"Yes. Sooner or later your great dome will collapse!"

"But then everybody inside there…"

"Yes. They'll all DIE!" He enjoyed the shocked and scared expression on the girl's face.

Ichigo felt fear coming up in her. 'No!' She shook her head. 'I don't have time for being afraid, nya! I have to find a way to stop that, nya!'

"But why do you want to do this, nya? That's cruel, nya!"

"Baka! What you did to the earth is lots more cruel! We're doing this only so the earth becomes a paradise again!"

"But what you do there is not okay! The earth belongs to us as well, nya!"

"But you're destroying it!"

"But your actions destroy it as well, nya!"

"Eh…" For a moment the boy didn't know what to say. She was kinda right… But fast he came back to himself. "Bu-but we're going to make it beautiful again right after you stupid humans are finally all dead!"

"But why do you want to kill us, nya? Why do we have to fight, nya?"

"Be-Because… Oh, you're making me crazy! I know! I'll kill you right now!" The boy raised his hand in that moment, yelling: "Go, Chimera Animal!"

A huge, like a mutant insect in a metal armor came out of the ground, facing Ichigo.

It tried to whack Ichigo with its huge arms in two halves, but the cat girl was faster and summoned her weapon: "Strawberry Bell!" The ribbon at her tail flashed and in the next moment she had her weapon in her hands. "I won't let you hurt everyone, nya! Take this! Ribbon… Strawberry Check!" she yelled, and seven colored light came out of her weapon, destroying the chimera animal in front of her.

"Phhhuuuuh, nya"

Taruto looked at her with a shocked expression. She had acted like it was nothing. But this had only been the warm up! He called a second of his beasts, looking exactly like the first one. It broke though the ground exactly behind Ichigo so she couldn't attack right away and had to run away at first. When she reached a little plateau she turned around and wanted to attack when suddenly plants came out the ground, tying her up.

"Ouch!" she struggled when the plants pressed out the air of her lungs, making it hard for her to breath. And the monster was coming towards her very fast…

"Hi hi hi, it seems like you forgot that I can control plants!"

It was true. She didn't think about it in that moment. But she didn't really mind about that right now. With shocked – and scared – eyes she watched the monster coming nearer and nearer… just a few meters…

But in the moment when it should have reached her the beast suddenly seemed to struggle before it dug into the ground right in front of the girl.

"What the, nya…?"

"Oh crap, I lose my control over it!"

"You did WHAT, nya?"

"Can't you listen? Besides, it doesn't matter because you're in even greater danger now that it's digging uncontrollable, together with all that stupid humans up there…" He enjoyed the scared look on her face. "Come on, cry already!"

In that moment the ground started to crumble terrible again. It seemed like the 'roof' of the hole would come down every moment…

In that moment the other mews arrived at the Tokyo Dome. They looked around, but besides the shaking ground and the people that were running around in panic they couldn't see anything. But suddenly the ground right in front of their eyes opened and a huge insect-like chimera animal came out. They tried to attack it, but every time they started an attack, the monster dug into the ground again. They needed multiple tries before they found a way of keeping it over the ground and finish it off. But even after the small victory they didn't have time to be released. Ryou and Keiichiro arrived, telling them that the ground would collapse every moment and that they had to support the dome.

"But how should we do this?" Retasu was shocked from the bad news.

"No plan, na no da!" Purin still used often the catchphrase she had since she was young.

"…" Zakuro didn't say anything. She wasn't that kind of talky person.

"All together! We have to combine our powers!" It was Minto who had an idea that might rescue them all.

"Heh? But how, na no da?"

"We just have to believe in us! I'm sure that it's gonna work!"

Even though the situation was very bad, Ryou and Keiichiro had to smile at each other. Minto really was a good leader.

The four mews took each a position round the dome. And then, magically, in their believe in each other and themselves, really words came to their heads, like the words for their weapon or attack.

"MEW POWER – EXTENSION!!"

Each of them was then in a tunnel in the color of their mew costume: Minto blue, Retasu green, Purin yellow and Zakuro violet. Together that power made the Dome not collapse. At least for now.

Taruto took a look around. The hole didn't totally collapse, but the tunnel in the 'roof' was no more, and everywhere were little mountains of earth and stones. The kitty girl wasn't there anymore.

But wait! He heard a silently chilling sound, like the one of a bell. He followed it and found a stone and earth mountain with a kitty tail on top of it. It seemed like she was buried under it.

'Heh! That was easy, she finished herself off!' But then her words came to his head again: 'Why do we have to fight, nya?' 'That's cruel, nya!' He shook his head. Besides, he didn't see her cry yet.

"What are you doing there, being buried?"

He took the tail and pulled at it a few times until the cat girl snapped out the ground, landing on her bottom.

"Ouch, nyaah…" He could see tears welling up in her eyes and smirked. "The entrance is blocked. So you'll die here! Come on, cry already!"

Ichigo clenched her fists as strong as she could. "No!"

"Nani?"

"I won't cry, nya! There's no way, nya! Everyone up there is in danger, probably also my friends and because of that there's no way that I'm gonna cry here, nya! I WON'T!" She yelled out the last words.

He shrugged and took a step backwards. He hadn't awaited that outbreak of hers.

Outside the other mews were in not smaller trouble. They knew, they wouldn't be able to hold the Dome lots longer. Their powers began to shrink and with them the confidence that they would win that fight against time. But it was too early to give up yet. With all strengths inside them they did their best to support the Dome.

In the meantime both Ichigo and Taruto had sat down on the ground, a space of about one meter between them. There was still a question lying on Ichigo's tongue.

"You…"

"What?" Could that annoying brat never be quiet?

"You didn't answer my question from earlier yet, nya. Why do we have to fight, nya?"

He sighed. "You see, we want to encounter earth and you want to protect it as you possession so we're enemies!"

"But it can't be that simple, nya!"

"But it IS!"

"But I don't want that, nya!"

"What?"

"I don't like to fight, nya! There must be another way, nya!"

"And what should that be?"

"I mean, why do you even want the earth, nya?"

"Because it's our former home, but we had to leave it because of a natural catastrophe. We landed on a terrifying planet with terrible weather – on the outside just snow storms, in the holes where we're living incredible hot – and nearly no food and water, but our space ships collapsed all so we couldn't change anymore. When we finally repaired one, they sent us to earth so we could take a look if it's alright again and what do we find: These stupid humans destroying our paradise!"

He suddenly stopped. Why was he telling her all that? He turned his head to look at the girl. To his surprise she was crying now.

"What's up? Are you finally scared now?"

"No, that's not it, nya… But that means that all your friends and family and everyone lives in hell and you have to fight us because you're just dreaming of a good live? SHOULD THAT MEAN WE'RE ONLY FIGHTING BECAUSE EACH OF US WANT TO PROTECT THEIR FRIENDS AND FAMILY, NYA?"

He felt how he turned red. What was with that outbreak now again?

"That's just not fair, nya! We both just want the best for our people, nya, so why can't we just be friends, nya? WHY?" Tears dripped down her cheeks like a waterfall. "And besides, that means that you didn't see your family and friends for quite a long time, right, nya?"

Relieved she wasn't yelling anymore he said "Yeah.."

"Why are you fighting anyway, nya?"

"Didn't I already tell you, because my people…"

"That's not what I mean, nya! Why YOU and no one older or something, nya?"

"Because I head the powers needed for that job… you know, my controlling of plants…"

"So you don't hate us personally, nya?"

He blushed again. "No…"

"And you don't like fighting, right, nya?"

"No… not really…" He shook his head. "I simply HATE it!"

"And what have been if you would have said that you don't want to fight or if you say now you don't want to follow the orders you're given, nya?"

He gulped. He had really bad memories related to things like that. "I get punished."

Her crying became even stronger than before.

"But why, nya? Why can't we just find a way to handle that without fighting, nya? Then we could be friends, nya and we wouldn't have to fight each other, nya! That's just not fair! We could play together, because we don't even need to fight, nya!"

"What you're saying doesn't make sense!"

"And besides, you must be super lonely without your family and friends, right, nya?"

"Yeah, sometimes it is…"

"This complete fight doesn't make sense! It's just cruel, nya, and it's never gonna give a good end like that! Why can't we just look quite fighting and play all peacefully together, nya?"

"You have a point but that won't help my people… And besides, why exactly do you cry anyway?"

"Because… Because it's just not fair that you have to fight if you don't want, nya! No matter how bad your living conditions are, nothing gives anyone the right to drag a child into fighting, nya! And even worse, to punish it if it doesn't want to, nya! NOTHING! I cry because we can't be friends even when we would want and… and… because I just want this fight to stop, nya!"

She already had this in her heart for a pretty long time, but there was never anyone she could have showed this thoughts and tears from the bottom of her heart. No one would have understood her, and now surprisingly her has-to-be enemy did.

But suddenly something came to her mind and the tears vanished from one moment to the other one. "I've got it, nya!"

"What?" Taruto also had totally forgotten that they were meant to be enemies and somehow even liked to have someone around who had the same thoughts and wishes like him.

She came nearer to him and grabbed his left hand with both of her hands. "The Mew-Aqua, nya!"

"Yeah, what is with it?"

"Why do you want to collect it to fight against us, nya?"

"How stupid are you it's for…"

"No no no, you don't understand nya! It has the power to restore the bad things you do to earth so that means it can restore bad conditions, nyaha!"

He slowly began to understand what she meant, but he wanted to hear it from her. "And what with that?"

"That means – " She was smiling all over her face now " – we could also collect it together and you could use it on you planet and we wouldn't have to fight anymore and we could be friends and you wouldn't get punished anymore because you don't want to fight and even though that wouldn't undo what humans did bad to earth there would be peace then and perhaps we could even visit each other and play altogether and… and… oh nya nya nya, that's so greeeaaat!" Her eyes seemed to sparkle while she thought about what good things all might happen if they'd do it like that.

"The others also don't really like it, right, nya?"

"If you mean Kisshu and Pai and fighting then – Kisshu dislikes it too, not at least because he doesn't want to hurt his beloved sing bird, but Pai doesn't mind anything as long as it's for…" He stopped. He had totally forgotten about that.

"What is it, nya?"

"It's our leader, Deep Blue, he wouldn't accept that way and he's also who lets us get punished if we break the rules."

"But then – is he then really helping you if he doesn't want peace, nya? If he's not helping you, wouldn't it be better to just forget about him, nya?"

Suddenly he realized that she still held his hand and blushed terribly, pulling his hand back. Then he sat back, closed his eyes and began to think about it. Sure, it didn't sound too bad…

Outside of the Dome the girls started to come into real trouble. Their powers reached the maximum point. They couldn't give more and it became less every moment. Not long and they wouldn't be able to hold it back anymore from collapsing.

After a few minutes of thinking the alien boy opened his eyes again. He didn't find a solution yet, but it was after all a beginning. He turned his head to look at the kitty girl sitting next to him. She seemed like she fell asleep but then he realized that she was breathing terribly hard.

"Hey, are you okay?" Again it came to his mind that they were enemies. But they were also… something else, like comrades, looking for a way to stop fighting. But what could be wrong with her? She didn't even react to him. But then he remembered what Pai taught him: Humans needed much more oxygen then them what meant that it wouldn't take long until she would die from a lack of it.

He looked at her, and pictures about their conversation came up in his head. He made her cry, but she wasn't crying because she was afraid, she was crying because of… Him! He needed a moment to realize that. After all, it was the first time that ever someone cried over him. What the heck was wrong with that girl? He watched her struggling a few moments longer.

'Crap, I didn't see you crying because of being scared yet, and besides, it'd be boring if you died, especially because you might really know a way of stopping the fight!'

And with that he realized three of his most powerful parasites, throwing them into the ground. A moment long happened nothing, then there was a loud cracking sound and plants came out of the ground under his feet.

Outside the Dome the four girls were losing the fight. Their powers were nearly totally exhausted and the building started to vanish in the ground. But then a sudden stir of energy let them fall backwards, making their Power Extension vanish completely. But the Dome didn't vanish. Instead of that huge trees started to grow around it, supporting it and holding it so it didn't collapse.

"What the…? Minto and the others didn't understand what was going on.

Suddenly the air started to vibrate a few meters in front of the trees and Taruto came out of the teleport entrance. In his arms he had the unconsciousness Ichigo. He laid her down and shook her shoulder. "Hey, how long do you wanna sleep like that?" He made a step backwards and waited for the girl to wake up.

"Uhhh…" Slowly Ichigo opened her eyes. She was lying at the ground. She rolled around and saw Taruto standing over her. Fast she stood up. "Taruto…?"

She stood up so they were facing each other. She held his hand towards him and smiled. "Thanks that you rescued me, nya! So we're friends now, right, nya?"

He felt how he blushed the god-knows-which-time. That was definitely the cutest smile he'd seen from her until now. "But I… tried to kill everyone… Did you already forget?"

"No, nya! But at least you rescued everybody so it's okay, nya! So come on, give me your hand, friend, nya!"

He hesitated for a moment, but then his hand reached for hers. But in the moment their hands touched, he realized what he was doing here and he quickly slapped her hand away.

"What do you think you're doing there? We're supposed to be enemies! Did you already forget? There's no way that we'd be friends!" And with that he flew away.

Ichigo watched the boy flowing away. A smile appeared on her face. She didn't know exactly why he didn't say yes now, but perhaps because he felt too watched here. Her smile grew bigger. This was definitely not the end. This was lots more like a totally new beginning.

She couldn't know, but the boy who was flying in the evening sky over the city was thinking exactly the same thing.

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_So, it's done, ne! _

_It might have been a bit confusing, a bit OOC, but I really like how it came out. I especially like chibi Ichigo, ne. And what about you? I hope you enjoyed it, ne! The writing was lots of fun, a nice diversion too Sweet Candy Promise, ne! But don't worry, I wouldn't even think about quieting this story, ne!_

_I'd be happy if you would review, ne!_

_Besides, shall I make more of this? I'm thinking of a version with Minto, but I'm not sure if I should make one… Perhaps also a sequel to this… _

_Oh, crap, I leave it to you, write me what you think and I do as you tell me to! (But don't forget I've got also an own will, ne!)_

_Well then, see ya and bye bye , ne!_


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